An Unexpected Turn
by aggressivefangirl
Summary: After a break-in at Stark Tower, SHIELD are faced with either jailing a young girl, or forcing her to join their ranks. She could be a valuable asset, and Fury decides that she could be good for a certain job that no one else has volunteered for. Is agreeing to Fury's terms a horrible choice, like so many others say, or is it the choice that will change her life? (Eventual Loki/OC)
1. The Beginning of the Beginning

You know, sneaking into tech-savvy, high-security towers is not easy. At all. Yet, here she was, risking her freedom _again_, just to cause some havoc. Well, she was actually trying to undo the mischief she may have caused, even if it was caused a few years ago. She paid the grouchy cabbie, and stepped out of the car. She took a deep breath of fresh air. Of course, she was in New York, so the air was actually polluted and not at all fresh, but it smelled like fresh air after getting out of that stinky cab. She looked like a tourist, with her worn duffel bag swung over her shoulder and the way she stared up at the towering building before her. Stark Tower was even more impressive in person, and she marvelled at it. She was there to experiment, something that she liked to do to push herself to find out her limits.

It would be a challenge to get in and return the item she had stolen without getting caught, but she liked challenges. Without them, her life would be pretty boring. But then again, she was special, and only the hardest of tasks truly challenged her. Hey, maybe this time she'll get caught on purpose just for fun. Snorting, she shook her head. Bad idea; this was Tony Stark and SHEILD that she was messing with, and getting caught would probably mean jail time, and she wasn't up for any more of that after last month. The only thing that truly worried her was the fact that she wasn't very experienced in what she was attempting to do.

She waltzed right up to the tinted glass doors, and just as some employee swiped an I.D. card, she went in. She had walked into a modern reception-type room, with a desk at the front and quite a few people milling about, all wearing an identical uniform of a dark blue, body-hugging jumpsuit, the SHEILD. logo decorating the sleeves. She left her duffel bag in a corner, hidden behind a plant. No one had noticed her of course. She continued to make her way to the elevator located on the other side of the large room, and slipped inside. It was empty, which was a bonus. This was much easier than she thought it would be. Then again, most people can't see someone if they are invisible. Everything was happening according to her plan, but, knowing her luck, something was bound to go wrong.

Her hands started shaking and beads of nervous sweat were forming on her forehead. Willing herself to remain calm, she took three large breaths. Selecting the floor that she knew the lab was on, she leant back on her heels, the quiet elavator music beginning to irritate her. This wasn't good; if she let her nerves get the better of her, her mischeif-making plans could crumble around her like a badly built dam. The glowing numbers in the lift seemed to crawl upwards at an agonisingly slow speed, like they were trying to annoy her. Finally, the electronic voice stated that they were at the lab's floor. Even so, the doors didnt open. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _No no no, _she thought. _It can't be ruined now!_

"Clearance needed. State your name, occupation and clearance level," the voice echoed through the mirrored lift, startling its only passenger into action. She cracked her neck from side to side, and reached a hand out to the elavator doors. There was a loud groan, and a few sparks, but the doors opened. She sighed, _I must stay calm._ With a new-found confidence, she walked briskly into the near empty hallway.

It was very modern, so much so that it seemed like it was from the future. But that was the least she could expect from Stark. It looked nice, and was probably extremely energy efficient, which was something she approved of, but, the security definitely disappointed her. Then again, it was probably really hard for even the smartest of scientists to keep a place secure when there are young women running around with the power of invisibility and who knows what else. She had passed about a dozen or so doors when she came to one with an engraving on it.

"Tony Stark," she read, murmuring under her breath so no one would hear her. There was a small window in the door, and someone had stuck a sign onto it from the inside, for passersby to read. "_Do not come in or I will get security to throw you out of a window!_" Her eyes widened at the somewhat violent message. She breathed out a laugh. Should she worry? She doubted he'd go through with the threat, but it was safer to just calm down a bit and remain focused.

She closed her eyes and did the breathing excersises that she was so familiar with. In, out. In, out. In, out. Feeling relaxed, but still ready for action, she opened her eyes and surveyed the entrance to the Lab. She could see Stark pottering around with some tool or what not, and occasionaly looking up at a computer screen or barking orders to Jarvis. He seemed like he needed to do breathing exercisies, or at least a large cup of coffee. He had bags under his eyes from sleep deprivation, and he was wearing a grease-stained gray shirt with black sweat pants. She searched for a handle to open the door with, but only found a keypad on the left side. She let a small smile grace her features. _A challenge,_ she thought. This is what she had been looking for. She knew pigs would sooner fly than she would guess the passcode, so she used her abilities to short circuit the door and its lock, making it slide freely with a small nudge. She smirked, _that wasn't too hard._

Entering the room quietly, she fell into a crouching position, waiting to see if Stark realised the door had opened. He didnt even look up from his current project. _Ouch, _she thought. _Am I that invisible?_ Sniggering at her own joke, she quietly crept between the rows of benches to a table directly behind Stark. She pulled what looked like a super high-tech device out of her back pocket, and placed it silently on the table. Mission accomplished. She turned to get out, when she tripped over a cord that had been haphazardly placed in the middle of the floor, just waiting to trip someone up.

"Son of a gun-" she cried out in surprise. Her eyes widened at her idiotic mistake, and her hands flew to her mouth. But it was too late; Stark had heard her. She ducked behind a bench just as he turned in her direction.

"Who's there?" he called out, seemingly into an empty room. But they both knew this was not the case. Her heart was pumping, and it was so loud she was scared that he would hear her. _Something just _had_ to happen, didn't it?_ She made a move to creep to the door, when she realised that she could see her hands. Now this, this was the one thing that feared: the fact that she wasn't as practiced in becoming invisible as she was with the other areas of her powers, and she had been nervous that she might flicker into visibility if she didn't focus.

Her plan had crumbled into ruins around her, and there was now only one option left: run. She lept up and sped out of the room, knocking over numerous glass objects in her path. Along with the sound of aggravated cries and smashing glass, she heard Stark yell to JARVIS about an intruder. A voice came over the speakers, and lights started flashing red, but she had already reached the elavator. She pushed the button, but nothing happened. She face palmed; of course the lift wouldn't work, there was an intruder in the building. She rushed to the other side of the long hall to reach the stairs, and jumped down the steps. As she ran, she breathed deeply through her nose. This wasn't all bad. She smiled, feeling the adrenaline pumping through her body.

This is what she was made for. It was the threat, the danger, and the blood pounding in her ears that made her thrive. She lived for the chase, for the anticipation, for the adrenaline, for the -

"Stop where you are, or we'll shoot," a strong, female voice interrupted her thoughts. A simultaneous _click_ was heard as dozens of guns became ready to fire, and they were all pointed at her. She had made it to the second floor's landing, and was surrounded by agents of SHIELD. The smile fell from her face, as quickly as it had .

There were many more agents than she first thought there was. She didn't fear them, though. She may have been nervous, but she definitely was not scared. No, the fear had been pushed out of her mind as the feeling of adventure had filled it. Even so, she didn't try to fight her way out of there, though she totally could. They probably had her face on camera, and of she escaped, they would find her, and she definitely _did not _want to be thrown in jail by SHIELD. She had heard a lot about them on the streets. Instead, she threw her hands up in surrender and spoke confidently.

"I can totally explain." The agent in front of her raised a doubtful eyebrow. The intruder sighed, and threw her arms out to be handcuffed, grumbling profanities.

"Actually, you know what? I'll just go quietly."


	2. Of Elaborate Excuses and Snide Comments

**Hi guys!**

**Thank you so much for reading! I was quite surprised to find that this story had any reviews or follows/favourites, and it lifted my self-esteem. I hope that this chapter is long enough and has no mistakes, though if it does, my apologies!**

**Thanks again,**

**M.**

* * *

Pacing the cramped cell, she scowled. She had been stuck in the cell for at least three hours now, after she was caught at gun point. The plan had seemed to work well, and when she originally created it, she couldn't find any flaws whatsoever. Her downfall was that, yet again, she hadn't anticipated something that was so obvious. She should have known that SHIELD would be inhabiting Stark Tower because of the not-so-secret Avengers Initiative. She mentally cursed both SHIELD and her own confident brashness in three different languages that she had picked up while travelling.

She lifted her head and studied her surroundings. Three of the cell's walls were stone and seemingly impenetrable**, **and the other wall was made up of metal poles that were close enough that she would only be able to fit one hand through. There was only one guard outside her cell; obviously they didn't think she would be able to take on even one fully grown man. It was impossible to escape – for a normal human, that is. She was nowhere near normal, though. A plan formed in her mind. She could use her abilities to stop the guard from moving, and then make his keys come to her so that she could unlock the door. She could then become invisible and walk out of the tower, and no one would be any the wiser. But of course, she wouldn't do that. She had heard many rumours about SHIELD and the way they operated, and she knew that if she escaped, they would hunt her down. After all, she was now a possible threat to the agency.

So, instead of planning ways to get out, she thought about what excuse she would do this time. Her eyes were closed and her mind was running, revising her words and making sure she sounded believable. She would rather be floating upside down - the blood rush helped her think – but they didn't seem to know she was anything out of the ordinary, and she could use that to her advantage.

She heard the footsteps before she saw them. She opened her eyes and saw a young woman in a SHIELD uniform talking to the guard outside. Sensing that she would be leaving the cell, she stood up and stared at the woman. The guard nodded and their whispered conversation ended, and he came to unlock her door. He then slipped a pair of handcuffs onto her wrists, and handed the key to the agent. The woman, who had short brown hair and a fancy ear-piece in her right ear, stood tall with a posture only someone with years of training would have.

"I'm here to take you up for questioning." The agent turned towards the stairs, motioning for the girl to follow her. She did, and soon they were in an elevator like the one she was in before. She sensed that it would probably not be a good idea to talk, and instead held her head up high and continued going over excuses. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. The agent walked fast, heading down the corridor to a door at the very end. She obviously didn't think that her prisoner could do anything with handcuffs on, even though she _had_ broken into Stark Tower. Sighing, the girl followed her. When they reached the door, the agent knocked sharply, and opened the door when a deep voice commanded her to come in. The agent opened the door, and told the girl to stay outside for a minute. She entered the room and closed the door behind her, leaving the other girl outside.

"Ah, Agent Hill. You brought the trespasser?" The same man's voice said. _So her name is Agent Hill_, the girl thought. She leant against the door with her ear to the wood so she could eavesdrop.

"Yes, she's waiting outside now."

"You left her outside by herself? You don't know what she'll do," the man said, clearly annoyed.

"No, sir, she's just a girl. She'll be too scared to do anything brash," Hill responded firmly.

_Just a girl? _Just _a girl? _The eavesdropper shook her head. _They don't know half of what I'm capable of. _

"Well, how did she get in, then? Did she hypnotise the guards with her childlike innocence? I need answers Hill; this situation could threaten the safety of SHIELD," the man demanded, his voice raising slightly. She knew that it would be a bad idea to cross this guy. But, knowing her attitude, she would probably say something inappropriate and get thrown back into a cell for a good part of her future.

"That's the problem sir; we found no footage of her on our cameras until she suddenly bolted out of Stark's lab. We have no idea how she did it." She heard the man straighten up in his chair.

"Well, she's been listening to us this whole time, so why don't we just ask her how she got through security?" She felt her cheeks warm up and redden at the fact she had been caught out. Like a child who knew they were in big trouble, she opened the door slowly and quietly. Sitting before her were Agent Hill and a middle-aged, African-American man who she immediately knew to be Director Fury, in all of his one-eyed glory. She sighed, deciding to go for happy and innocent.

"Hi!" She sounded much more cheery and confident than she felt. She gave a small wave, but neither of the other occupants of the office seemed amused.

"Sit," the director said firmly. She did as she was told, stopping herself from arguing or being difficult. She was in enough trouble as it was. She sat down in an uncomfortable chair opposite of Fury and his desk. She took in her surroundings; a good sized room with several windows, that lacked personal touches. SHIELD probably looked down on that kind of thing because they wouldn't want their people to be showing weakness or vulnerability. The desk had several files on it, some open and sprawled over the desk, others closed and in a pile. There was also a laptop and a stationery holder with assortments of pens and pencils. All in all, the room was modern, but it was very bland and boring. She stared expectantly at the director, who leaned forward on his elbows and stared right back at her. It was silent for a moment, but then she was bombarded with questions.

"Who are you? Why did you break into SHIELD headquarters? Who are you working for? And most importantly, how the _hell_ did you get into my tower?" Fury was yelling by the end of his little speech, and he seemed to be getting more agitated with every breath. He narrowed his eye at her, and leant back in his chair. She frowned, working out what to say.

"Well, first of all, nice to meet you too," she replied sarcastically. Fury didn't look impressed, so she moved on hastily.

"I am someone who you should both admire, yet be afraid of. I have never met anyone else like myself in all of my twenty-two years, and I have the potential to be extremely dangerous. I broke in because I had to return something that I took three years ago. Then again, I didn't really break in. Your security sucks, by the way. But, I guess not everybody can see someone who is invisible." This snatched their interest, and Fury leaned forward again, while agent Hill moved to stand closer to the desk.

"Invisible?" Hill asked. The young girl nodded smugly.

"Indeed. I have powers that you could only dream of. That's how I broke in. And lastly, I don't work for anyone but myself. Where would the fun be in that?" She thought that they would be surprised that she didn't work for some terrorist organization, but if they were, they hid it well. Instead, they both seemed to still be thinking about the invisibility comment.

"What kind of powers are you talking about here? Just invisibility?" Fury asked. The young girl smirked, and shook her head.

"Oh, invisibility among other things. Have you ever heard of Experiment Y?" The director nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Agent Hill typing away on a tablet, probably searching up the long dead program.

"Yes, we shut it down back in the nineties," he said, eyeing her suspiciously.

"They were an illegal program experimenting on kids, changing their genes and DNA to create mutants, you could call them, all with different powers. They created telepathics, pyrokinetics, even kids who could fly. There were probably about twenty kids all together, all orphans or thrown out by their parents," she continued, and Fury kept nodding.

"Yes, yes, we know all of that. That's classified information, though. How do you know all of that? Did you hack our systems too?" The girl frowned, but stayed silent, letting Fury work out the answers to his questions for himself. She could see the gears turning in Fury's head, and then his eye widened and he leant back as the realisation dawned on him.

"You were one of them, weren't you?" She nodded, and she saw Hill still typing on her tablet, looking up at the handcuffed girl every so often.

"Go ahead, run a search for my face. But you'll find nothing about me. Not the real me, anyway," she smiled smugly. Fury narrowed his eye again.

"We have information on every person in this country, and people in other countries. We have information about the other kids in the Experiment Y program. We even have information on otherworldly beings. Why won't we find information about you?"

"Oh, lots of reasons, sir. I have many false identities, and an ability to escape unwanted problems. I could leave now, and you wouldn't even know until I was out of this building." Again, she smirked. She loved challenging people, because she knew she would always beat them. Fury laughed humourlessly.

"I seriously doubt that."

"Do you, Director?" There was a mischievous glint in her sea-green eyes.

"You should be more careful with your tone. You have no idea who you're dealing with," he warned, and she chuckled quietly at his words.

"The question is, sir, do _you_ know who you're dealing with? You have no idea what I could be capable of." Her words were met with a heavy silence, and she could feel Fury's critical gaze sweeping over her. He frowned.

"Well then, why don't you tell me who you are and what you are capable of?" She smiled arrogantly.

"See, now you're asking the right questions," she remarked. Fury raised his eyebrows, obviously unimpressed with her attitude. She laughed on the inside; at first she told herself that she wouldn't get into anymore trouble by being rude and sassy, but now she was being her usual sarcastic, snide self, and probably making _another_ enemy.

"My name is Sam Moore," she paused, and smirked as she watched Agent Hill make a futile attempt at searching her name in their database.

"And I am the world's first and only energy manipulator."


	3. Left With Two Choices

**Hey guys!**

**Sorry it took me a while to get this chapter done. I would like to say that this chapter has a bit of science talk in it, but I made most of it up. It probably makes no sense, but just go with it. If there are any mistakes or if you have any tips, please tell me!  
**

**Thanks,**

**M.**

* * *

"My name is Sam Moore," the girl paused for effect. She was definitely the dramatic kind.

"And I am the world's first and only energy manipulator," she grinned wildly, not even totally sure why she was telling them the truth.

"Well," she said, cocking her head to the side in thought, "the only one I know of." Fury raised his eyebrows, obviously doubting her. Sam couldn't blame him; it wasn't like she had shown them any evidence of her abilities. Agent Hill seemed as stoic as usual, but Sam knew that the woman was analysing her words very carefully. Fury crossed his arms over his chest, and pursed his lips.

"Alright," he said. "Say that we decided to humour you, that we believed you could 'manipulate energy'. What does that even mean?" He asked, both curious and confused.

"Well, 'energy manipulator' is a loose phrase, and probably an incorrect way to describe what I can do, but it is infinitely easier to pronounce than what the scientists at Experiment Y called me," she explained. Fury opened his mouth to say something, but Sam beat him to it.

"Before you ask, I never really paid attention to what they told me and I have no idea what they did call my abilities. I don't even fully understand what I can do, but I know the basics." She stopped, but Fury gestured for her to continue. He had a few ideas about what he could use this girl for, if she showed some real potential. There was one job in particular, that he knew no one else was going to volunteer for. And she would have to do it, too.

"Here's what I know, or at least, what I can remember. My abilities include moving objects, animals and people, and I can also hold and use raw electricity as a weapon. I can do this by manipluating and moving the atoms and particles around different objects and energies. This means that I can move things, both living and non-living objects, without touching them physically. Moving other people and animals takes a lot of energy, though. This is because, unlike inanimate objects, people have their own will and so it is very hard to make them do something they don't want to do. I'm not really good at doing that," she explained, shrugging.

"Somehow, I can also turn invisible, but I have no idea how that works, and I only figured out how to do it in the past few years. The scientists said that it could be possible, but I never showed signs of being able to that during my time at the program. I practice doing it, but I'm not very good at it, and it feels really weird. I don't like doing it at all," she concluded, grimacing.

Fury nodded thoughtfully, interested. She sounded like someone that could help SHIELD in many areas. That is, if she was telling the truth. Fury narrowed his eye at her again, and she rasied an eyebrow in response.

"Okay, so let's say that I believed all that. Why would you be telling us this, if you never told anyone else before?" Fury asked.

"And what makes you think I don't tell anyone?" Sam laughed. This comment caught Fury off guard. _How could she have told anyone if we have no information on her? _Fury thought. _Someone would have said something._

"We have no information on you, but you say you have told someone? How could you have gotten away with it?

"Firstly, I have told numerous people about it, not just 'someone'. Secondly, I get away with it because of the ignorance of human nature. Who would believe someone who claims they met a girl with supernatural powers, yet they have no evidence of it? I'm very good at hiding my powers, even when I tell someone about them," Sam smiled, feeling only a little guilty that she had made several people seem crazy. Fury wasn't really surprised at her logic; this girl seemed equal parts smart and devious.

"So, miss Moore, can you give us evidence that you _do_ have special powers?" Fury asked, though he was almost sure that she was just a normal human. She certainly didn't look like anything out of the ordinary. Maybe she's some computer hacker and looped the camera feed so she seemed 'invisible'. Hacking could have been how she got all of that information on Experiment Y. It was doubtful that she was apart of the program because they had found no information on her at the site. Sam's face went neutral for a moment, like she was making a decision. Then she smiled sweetly.

"Mmm, no. You guys were hard to break into, and I don't want to give you hard evidence that I am not some crazy teenager. I may not be able to steal it back from you," she shrugged. If she was speaking the truth, and it seemed like she was, then she could be a great addition to SHIELD. Fury could only imagine the possibilities.

"I don't think you realise what the stakes are. You have broken into a government building, and I can make sure that you go to jail for a very long time. For all we know, you could have been attempting murder. And if you escape, we will hunt you down," Fury leant forward and narrowed his eye at her. Sam's eyes widened considerably in shock and fear.

"Of course, that doesn't have to happen if you show us your so-called skills. You are obviously scared of being locked up, judging by your reaction." Sam narrowed her eyes at Fury, annoyed that he would accuse her of being scared of jail, somewhere she could very easily escape.

"I am _not_ scared of going to jail, thank you very much! I just don't fancy being chased around for my whole life because I escaped you!" Fury knew he had her now. She wasn't scared of jail; she was scared about having to hide from them for the rest of her life. Fury couldn't blame her, though. SHIELD were relentless and they were known for eliminating all threats easily and quietly. Sam was now classified as a threat, and Fury could use this to his advantage.

"Well then, you had better show us what you can do," Fury had the smallest of smirks on his face. Sam slumped in defeat for a second, but then straightened back up.

"Wait, does this mean I get a job in SHIELD? 'Cause I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of commitment," she asked, suspicious.

"That depends."

"Depends on what?" Fury was getting impatient now.

"Just show us your damn powers!" He didn't yell, but he wasn't exactly kind about it, either. Sam scowled and crossed her arms defensively.

"Well alright then," she grumbled. "If we're going to be working together you better get a hold on that attitude-"

"Miss Moore!" Fury definitely yelled this time. His tone seemed to shock Sam into action. She shook her head and held out her arms, palms facing up.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll just get on with it now, then," she mumbled, not happy with the way Fury was talking to her. Fury glared at her. He was beginning to get sick of her voice. Sam closed her eyes and scrunched up her brow. She wasn't exactly focused at the moment; there were many thoughts wandering around in her head and she was finding it quite hard to clear her mind. Eventually, though, she got ahold of her powers.

Fury was watching her with a careful gaze, and Agent Hill, who was being silent but making sure she was noting anything that seemed important, was also staring at Sam. Sam stayed still for a few moments, but then she opened her eyes and smirked. Suddenly, all of the items on Fury's desk were floating around them. Fury and Hill were shocked. Were their eyes decieving them? Was she playing a trick on them? It certainly didn't seem like it. They didn't really expect this girl to be telling the truth. In all honesty, they were both thinking that she was utterly insane. But no, Sam proved them wrong, and she did it with style. It was quite the show.

She dropped the objects back onto Fury's desk, and organised them so they were exactly as they had been before. She smiled at the director, and slapped her hands together like she was getting rid of dust.

"Ta da!" She exclaimed in a sing-song voice. Fury sighed. _She may be useful, but she is also extremely annoying,_ he thought. _Like a small child._

"Is that all you can do?" he asked impatiently. This time, it was her turn to sigh.

"Did you not listen to a thing I said? That little speech I made before was hard to get right," she whined.

"But no, that is not all that I can do. Like I said before, I can also go invisible, and move living things," she explained, for the second time. Fury nodded and gestured for her to show him, and Sam smiled at the chance of being able to show off. She snapped her fingers and disappeared before their eyes. Fury was pretty sure she wouldn't run, but he still commanded Hill to run a thermal search of the room.

"Chill out, pirate guy. I'm right here," Sam laughed from behind Fury, so he had to swivel in his chair to see her. She walked around his desk, and sat back down in her chair.

"That was invisibility. Pretty cool, huh?" She seemed happy with herself, and even Agent Hill seemed impressed. But Fury looked as indifferent as ever. Sam pouted; her powers normally impressed people, even a little. Time for the finale.

"Now, this is my specialty. It's how I fight and defend myself" she opened the palm of her right hand, and stared up at one of the light bulbs. The light flickered, and went out. But the energy from the light wasn't gone; it was now in the palm of Sam's hand. She smiled, and looked up to Fury. Now he looked impressed.

"This is raw electricity, and it is dangerous. I can burn someone, short circuit machines, or shoot it from my palm and use it as a weapon. I would give a demonstration but I don't want to break anything." Fury stared at the ball of light in Sam's hand. Now, _that_ was interesting.

"I draw energy from machines, or I can use my own energy, but that can be extremely exhausting. I can't draw energy from other people, though. I'm not sure how it works, but I think it has something to do with atoms. I've never really been the science type," she shrugged. Fury leant back in his chair, thinking. Maybe he would employ this girl.

"I can also make other people and animals do things, but I won't show you that because I always pass out. I'm exhausted as it is," Sam sighed, tired. She could really do with some food. Sugary food, preferably.

She slumped in her chair, and stared at Fury. Fury stared right back at her. This continued on for several moments.

"Miss Moore, what would you say about joining SHIELD? It would be temporary at first, just to see if you can cooperate with us. But, it could become a permanent job. Your abilities could be quite helpful," he asked, getting down to business. "You would be thoroughly compensated, of course." Sam's eyes widened.

"Uh, no. No way in hell. I'm perfectly fine living on the wrong side of the law," she raised her hands like she was surrendering, and shook her head vigorously.

"Miss Moore, I don't think you understand. You only have two options in this situation. Either you work for us-" Sam snorted "-or you go to jail." Her eyes widened even more. She slumped in defeat, because she knew that there was no other way out of this. She couldn't go to jail, and she certainly didn't want to be on SHIELD's wanted list. If she had just been more careful and looked where she was walking, she wouldn't even be here right now. She nodded slowly, looking at her lap. Fury smiled.

"Good. Welcome to SHIELD, Agent Moore," Fury declared, extending his hand to shake. Sam lifted her head and shook his hand glumly.

"We leave for the Helicarrier tomorrow."


	4. Floating on Air

"We leave for the Helicarrier tomorrow," Fury stated, and motioned for Agent Hill and Sam to leave.

"I'm sorry, but the what?" Sam was understandably confused. No one knew about the Helicarrier except for those who had been on it. Fury sighed. Why couldn't she just leave?

"The Helicarrier, its our headquarters. You will be given your job orders sometime in the next few days while there. Agent Hill will take you to gather your things and then she will show you to a room in the living quarters. Agent Hill?" Fury explained, looking to Hill. She nodded and moved to stand near Sam.

Sam was still very confused, but Fury obviously wasn't willing to give her any more information. Hill motioned for her to go through the door, and she obeyed. Before she left, she turned to Fury.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow. Or something like that. Catch you later, Director," Sam walked through the door, head held high, smirking. She heard Fury sigh and tell Agent Hill to "knock her over the head if she keeps talking". Sam chuckled, and turned to face Hill after she closed the door.

"So, what now?" Sam asked, leaning against a wall.

"We get your stuff. If you have anything, that is. Do you have an apartment that you've been living at?" Hill replied, now curious as to where and how this girl had been living. She didn't look rich; she was wearing a pair of ripped jeans, an old Pink Floyd shirt and converses. Sam shook her head.

"Nah, not really. I just go where life takes me," she shrugged. "Sometimes I'll get a cheap hotel room, but I don't really get much money in my line of work." Hill looked at her.

"And what is your line of work?"

"Apologies, Agent, but that's for me to know and you to find out," Sam smirked. She loved being mysterious. Agent Hill almost smiled; she almost liked this girl.

"So you don't have any belongings at all?"

"No, I never said that. I hid my duffel bag downstairs behind some plants," she smiled. Hill nodded and walked over to the elevator, and Sam followed. They went down to the lobby, and Sam walked straight past all of the SHIELD employees, who were all staring at her, and over to a couple of potted plants standing against the wall near the door. She reached behind them and produced a tired, old duffel bag. It was plain black, but had faded so that it looked like a dark grey. Sam smiled fondly down at it.

She had had the bag almost her whole life. She had stolen it from a market stall during her time in Europe. It only had a few small holes, and it still smelled alright. It held all of her belongings; her clothes, a few CDs and books, her old but reliable phone, her wallet, a metal box with a padlock on it and her laptop. Her laptop was her most prized possession. It had all of her music, the stories of her adventures and experiences and all of the other things that she held dear. It was a Macbook, and kind of old, but she knew some people who were good with technology, and they fixed it up and updated it for her. In her wallet she had a few coins and some paper money and a fake ID card. In the metal box she had some other fake IDs and a few thousand dollars in cash. She also had her personal information in it; her birth certificate, information on her parents, a real ID card and some other important stuff that the scientists at Experiment Y had given her when she left.

Sam walked back over to Agent Hill, and told her that she was ready now.

"Alright. I'm going to take you up to the living quarters so that you have somewhere to sleep for tonight and you aren't left on the streets," Hill explained, and walked towards the elevator, Sam in tow.

"Nah, you just don't want me to run off on you," she chuckled. Hill nodded sharply.

"I probably won't," Sam smirked. "But I'm not making any promises." The elevator dinged when it reached the third floor, and they got off. Hill and Sam walked down the hallway, passing many doors. The agent stopped in front of one of the last doors, and Sam bumped into her because she wasn't watching where she was going.

"This is your room for the night. It locks on the inside, but we can still get in if necessary. There is a bed, a bathroom and a desk, along with some food in case you get hungry," Hill told her, opening the door for Sam. She walked in and turned to face Agent Hill.

"Thanks."

"Be ready by seven in the morning." Sam's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to argue, but Hill just nodded her head in goodbye and closed the door. Sam glared at where the agent had been standing.

"Seven in the bloody morning? What are these people on?" She asked herself. She turned to face the small room. It was as bland as Fury's office. There was a bed in the left corner furthest away from her, a metal desk and chair against the wall she was facing, a small fridge and microwave next to the desk and a door on the right wall, leading to what Sam assumed was the bathroom.

"Must be something in the coffee," she mumbled, placing her bag on the grey bed sheets. She sat down next to her bag, and noted that the bed wasn't comfortable. She opened her bag and pulled out a baggy shirt and some yoga pants to wear to bed, and she changed into them. She could shower in the morning.

She stumbled over to the fridge and pulled out a soda and some chocolate. She downed the drink and took a big bite out of the chocolate block, and shoved the rest of the candy back into the fridge. At least she felt a little better. She sat back down on the bed, throwing her bag gently onto the floor, and spotted an alarm clock sitting on the desk. The green digits told her that it was nearly nine o'clock. She flicked a button, and found that the alarm was set to wake her up at 6:30. She laughed, and yanked on the power cord. The alarm flashed off. She would wake up when she wanted to. _I may have been forced into working for SHIELD,_ Sam thought, _but that doesn't mean I'll make it easy for them_.

* * *

Sam woke from a dreamless sleep with a bad headache and sore limbs. She wasn't feeling good at all. In fact, if it was up to her, she wouldn't even be awake. But someone was banging on her door hard enough that she was left wondering if it would fall off her hinges.

"Agent Moore!" Ah, so it was that blasted Hill woman. It was then that Sam remembered that she was now an employee of SHIELD, and she was leaving for something called the Heliplane, or whatever. It wasn't really in her best interest to remember the name of it.

"Moore, you need to wake up. Someone will be here to collect you in less than five minutes," the woman called out to her again, and made Sam wince. It was normal for her to get bad headaches after using her powers. She groaned, but Hill didn't say anything else, so Sam assumed she had left. She pulled herself into a sitting position, rubbing her eyes.

"Guess I can't have a shower now," she groaned. She Stumbled into the bathroom to splash her face so that she felt at least a little bit refreshed. Sam stared at the mirror, carefully watching her reflection. Her uncontrollable hair wasn't as frizzy as it normally was, which was awesome. Sam had mousy brown hair, which really didn't seem to like behaving. The one thing that was very noticeable about Sam, though, was her eyes. She had very pale blue eyes, so pale that they almost blended in with the whites of her eyes. It was a side effect of the stuff they gave her at Experiment Y; she originally had deep green eyes. She decided to pull her hair into a bun at the top of her head, though it was messy because she really couldn't be bothered to put much effort into her appearance.

She walked out and rummaged through her bag. She threw on a pair of loose jeans and an old black singlet that had stretched so that it was nearly too big for her. She wore her converses again, as they were the only pair of shoes that she owned, besides a pair of black Nikes. She stuffed her dirty clothes back into her bag, resolving to get them cleaned soon, and zipped it shut. Flinging her duffel bag over her shoulder, she moved towards the exit just as someone knocked on it. When Sam opened the door, she was faced with a short man, who was wearing a SHIELD jumpsuit.

"Please follow me, miss. The helicopter that will take you to the Helicarrier is right this way," he started speed walking off down the corridor, and Sam found it hard to follow him because she was still quite tired. She was definitely _not_ a morning person. They walked down several long hallways and took the elevator up to the roof. She was met with a strong gust of wind from the already spinning blades of the helicopter. The agent started running to it, and Sam followed in his wake. They jumped on board, to be faced with Director Fury and Agent Hill. Sam sighed loudly and flopped down on a seat, fastening her seatbelt.

"I hear you woke up late this morning, Moore," Fury stated, eyeing her.

"Trust me, I don't consider seven o'clock to be late in the morning. And I will wake up when I feel like it. You may be able to tamper with my schedule when I'm awake, but when I sleep is up to me," Sam countered, annoyed and still very tired. Most of what she said was mumbled, and Sam wasn't even sure if any of it made sense, but she got her point across. No one was going to mess with this girl's inner clock.

Sam laid her head back, closing her eyes. Over the flight, Fury explained that their helicopter was so empty because the other agents had already gone to the Helicarrier yesterday. After that, neither Fury, Hill or the other agent that guided her to the helicopter said a word until they landed. They had been travelling for about a half hour, Sam estimated. She liked riding in a helicopter, they were so fast and went so high. She marveled at the view of the ocean below them, but gasped with they went a little bit higher and some kind of flying ship appeared out of no where. She looked up to Hill with a confused face, and the woman turned her gaze to the ship below them.

"Below us is the Helicarrier, where you will be situated for the foreseeable future," she explained, and Sam snorted.

"Yeah I guessed that. But how the hell did it just appear?" It was then that the helicopter touched down on the landing deck. Hill, Fury and the other agent all got up to leave, and Sam followed suite.

"Cloaking device," Hill replied shortly, looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah, because that explains _everything_," Sam shook her head, and followed the Hill off of the helicopter. Hill checked to make sure that she was following them, and then faced forward again, bringing up a map of the Helicarrier on her tablet. She pointed to a certain space labeled 'living quarters'.

"This is where you'll be staying. That particular part of the aircraft has three levels and many rooms, so you won't be alone, but you will probably be the only one in that hallway," Agent Hill explained. They kept walking, travelling up two staircases and several different corridors until they finally reached a doorway.

"Is this where I'm staying?"

"No. Unfortunately, I won't be able to show you to your room because I have a meeting to go to for the next few hours. So I'm leaving you with some other people. I figured you may want to meet some of the more powerful occupants of the aircraft, because I have a feeling that you will be seeing them quite often," Hill said, with a small smirk. Sam opened her mouth to ask something, but the agent just opened the door and walked inside. Sam followed, and had to stop her mouth from falling open.

Inside was a laboratory, much like the one she had sneaked into. But that wasn't what shocked Sam; it was the people inside the room that surprised her. In front of her were three of the Avengers, Earth's mightiest heroes. She was speechless, but, thankfully, Hill spoke for her.

"This is Sam. Fury asked for her to stay here so that she doesn't sneak off and cause the Helicarrier to fall out of the sky, or something," the woman spoke, and Sam sent a withering glare in her direction. She waved, and threw her bag down on the floor.

"Agent, we aren't babysitters. Can't you see we are doing something here?" Tony Stark, the Iron Man, piped up, and Sam turned her glare to him. He was playing with some pieces of metal, and Bruce Banner was watching him.

"Well, excuse me, Mr High-and-Mighty. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't really care if you want me here or not," she retorted, and Stark rised his eyebrows. He was probably surprised that someone was insulting him, even though he held a lot of power. Sam knew it wasn't a good idea, but she always acted first and then asked questions later. That habit had landed her in a _lot _of problems throughout the past. Hill just looked sympathetically at her, so it seemed that this was his normal attitude.

"Yeah, well if you keep talking to people like that, no one will want you anywhere," he shrugged, smiling sweetly.

"Says the playboy who talks like a spoiled teenage girl who just got dumped," Sam smiled sweetly right back at him. He laughed, and gestured for her to sit down. She hopped on a table and started swinging her legs.

"That's some interesting wording you got there," he said, then turned to Agent Hill.

"Go off to your meeting or whatever it is that you actually do. I like her attitude," he told the woman, pointing at Sam. She smiled and gave a short bark of laughter. Agent Hill nodded and left without a word.

"Sorry, but I can't really say the same to you." Banner looked up from what he was doing.

"Eh, you get used to it," he stated shortly. The Black Widow snorted from her place at a computer.

"No, no you don't." And with that, silence fell over them, and they all went back to what they were doing. Sam sighed, still not able to wrap her head around the fact that she was sitting in a lab with half of the Avengers, and it was on good terms, not because she had accidentally caused the end of the world. Because that was definitely something that would happen to her, with the luck she'd been having over the past couple of days.

* * *

"So, what do you people do for fun?"

Half of the Avengers were sitting in the lab, as Stark and Banner were tinkering with some device. Sam was sitting on one of the tables, playing with a stress ball she had found. The Black Widow was leaning back on a desk chair, doing some research on one of the lab's many computers, and Stark had told her that the other Avengers were off on some mission, or something. Sam had nothing to do, because it seemed that these people were content with being quiet. It was safe to say that she was _bored_. And a bored Sam was not someone you would want to be around.

"Do you people even know the meaning of fun?" Sam grinned. This got a low chuckle from Stark. Romanoff looked up and glared at the young girl. Sam didn't really like the assassin, well, at least not from what she had seem about her in the past hour or so.

"There is no time for fun," the assassin scolded, and Sam cringed at her tone. She sounded like the scientists from Experiment Y after she had pulled one of her notorious pranks.

"We are agents, and not children. We don't have playtime, though if you are just going to keep throwing that ball and do nothing productive, then you're welcome to go take a nap." Sam grinned. _Yikes_, she thought. _I'll have to remember not to insult Spider-girl over here_.

"Chill, Nat. No need to be such a party-pooper," Stark laughed, then turned his attention to Sam.

"It is seriously boring here, right? There's not really much to do, so we just hang out in here. Thunder Guy, that's Thor from Asgard, will be here soon, anyway, and he's always fun to annoy." Sam raised her eyebrows, wondering how these people were still sane.

"Why is he coming?" She asked Stark, for he seemed to be the only one who was willing to interact with her civilly. He shrugged, leaning back.

"No idea in the slightest. Fury won't say anything except for the fact that it's serious. Probably got something to do with saving the world, again. But until Thor arrives, Fury's holding out on us." He shrugged nonchalantly, and this made Sam suspect that Fury kept secrets from them often. The others didn't seem to know anything either.

Sam looked around, figuring that if she didn't find something to do soon, she would end up smashing something accidentally. She sighed deeply, but straightened as an idea popped into her head.

"Have you guys got a basketball court here, or something?" She inquired, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, there's the wrestling ring, which is kinda small, but if you move the gym equipment from around it, there's a fair bit of space," Stark nodded. Sam smiled her signature mischievous grin and leapt to her feet, rubbing her hands together like a supe-rvillain who was about to share his master plan. Which, in her eyes, she was exactly about to do.

"Lady and gentlemen, I know what we are going to do today: we are going to play the game of the gods." The other Avengers raised their brows expectantly. She sighed; they obviously didn't know what she meant.

"We're gonna play dodgeball! Duh."


End file.
